Most affected owners *should* know by now that Honda had a massive recall on multiple motorcycle models due to a potential failure in the starter relay switch. A failure could lead to a fire or even the bike suddenly stalling – which is a potential accident risk. The potentially faulty starter relay switch seem to affect multiple Honda motorcycle models manufactured in 2014 and 2015. My CB400X is a 2014 model. *GASP!*
Being the 3rd owner of the vehicle and only recently acquiring it, I have no idea if my bike’s starter relay is affected, or if it had been swapped out. And since this is a SAFETY issue and a possible FIRE HAZARD, I decided to be prudent about it and do some investigation myself.
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The starter relay switch is located on the RHS of the motorcyle – just underneath the plastic side panel. Once I got access to the starter relay, I whipped out my multimeter to check if the cables are live. YES! 12VDC! WARNING!! LIVE! EVEN WITH THE IGNITION SWITCHED OFF! For safety reasons, I disconnected the negative terminal of the battery before proceeding to remove the terminals on the starter relay.
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![](http://sgbikerboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IMG_9513.jpg)
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The faulty starter relay switches that were affected in this recall were manufactured from 19-Sep-13 through 01-Sep-14. Any relays manufactured outside this range should be good. And the one on my bike was manufactured in…..
![](http://sgbikerboy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IMG_1919.jpg)
09-Sep-13!! Manufactured merely TEN DAYS before the affected batch of relays!
Okay, back into the bike it goes. At least now I have the peace of mind that my starter relay isn’t at risk of catching fire or sudden failure due to this known issue!
UPDATE: Strangely, while Boon Siew – the official distributor of Honda motorcycles here in Singapore – has a recall on the CB400(X?) motorcycles, it was for a rear stop switch coupler corrosion issue which would lead to a brake light failure. Nothing on this globally-known starter relay switch issue.
Boon Siew’s recall notice can be found here: https://www.boonsiewhonda.com.sg/service-centre/recall-a-campaign/item/8-cb400-recall